Josh was surprised to get paired against Yvaine for a second flight in a row, this time at the end. The winner would claim a nice-sized check. "It already shows how much you've improved from having won two in a row to get here," the Gym Leader complimented. "I'll have to stop you here, though!"

Raikiri wasn't going to show any mercy on the Zoroark, either; the mythical thundercat looked ready to zip toward the dark-type foe. Knowing what was coming might only help the redhead so much; Josh's ace Pokémon was so fast that it took special training to be able to even follow his movements.

Josh guffawed at the Zoroark's folly of trying to match Raikiri's speed. "If you think you're going to outrun the fastest land mount I've got, you're sorely mistaken!" he taunted, Raikiri matching the burst of AGILITY with one of his own. The two looked like black and yellow comets circling the battle court, the action almost impossible for even Josh's eyes to track.

Raikiri had a deadly way to harness his speed. ELECTRO BALLS formed at the ends of his bolt-shaped whiskers and the center of his teal faceplate. With just how fast the thundercat was running, it gave the illusion of the high-speed electric projectiles coming from many directions. All of them flew toward the dark-type with great speed.

"You wanna go fast? I'll show you fast!" he continued to egg Yvaine on.

Josh was in his element, sensing perhaps some frustration in Yvaine's eyes from trying to keep up with the action. Even he was having trouble as the two blurs of black and yellow continued to pick up speed. He longed to be in the saddle, going at that kind of speed again. It would take a lot of training hours to acclimate to those conditions; being bedridden for weeks at a time let him out of shape. Besides speed tolerance, he would need to rebuild core strength again, and the best way for him to do that would be to saddle up and go fast, even if it hurt him to do so.

The NIGHT SLASH would collide with PLASMA PAWS that were equally fast. Even for Raikiri, a Pokémon used to swiping with claw and paw at ludicrous, sometimes supersonic speed, the recoil from the claw-to-claw impact would sting. Sparks flew from the contact like the clash of blades from master swordsmen sparring with one another in the finals of a battle tournament.

Yvaine had learned a lot from their last meeting. Their high speed clashes were as fast as the driving drum beat of a metal band, the light of their impacts as bright as the attacks themselves. While it was an impressive show to watch, it was getting the duo nowhere.

Ducking out of the way of the last flurry of NIGHT SLASHES, Raikiri sprung upward, trying to fling and BOUNCE the fox high into the air. Were the Zoroark not ready for he, the Zeraora would aim to land in the rafters, ready to follow up with a devastating electric attack Yvaine may have been familiar with by now.

If the Zoroark wanted Raikiri to give it his all, he would do that. Entreating the idea with a grin on his face, Josh would give Yvaine exactly what she wanted. It was a familiar move that, last time, may have left her feeling helpless.

Raising his Z-GLOVE, Josh aimed its Z-Energy toward Raikiri, the electric cat lunging at his vulpine foe in a HYPERSONIC PLASMA CHARGE whose initial impact lasted but an instant, paws flying toward the dark-type at supersonic speed. Even if he were to somehow whiff, the Zoroark would still have to contend with the lightning storm and aural explosion that followed!

Josh had learned from his battles with Melody Miro that sound moves were a counter to great speed. The attacks were unavoidable by dodging; only by sheer toughness, which Raikiri was lacking. The Zeraora was going down; it was just a matter of whether he could take the fox down with him.

With a heroic effort, the electric feline made one last lunge toward his foe. No extended claws, no fangs - just a blistering fast QUICK ATTACK to trip the foe and take it down before he would collapse from his own exhaustion.

It was exhilarating and close the entire way. It took a strong opponent to get Josh's blood pumping in battle, and the redhead was one of them. It made the duo's victory even more sweet. He offered the lady a firm handshake. "Phew, what a tournament. I think I ran myself ragged. Probably gonna take a few days off. But when I'm back in my Gym... come visit me, okay? It's been too long." It was his way to goad her into issuing a challenge. There was something adventurous about Yvaine that he couldn't quite put a finger on.

Regardless, the award ceremony would be starting soon, and Josh couldn't miss that. After all, the way the standings were, he would be a part of it!